| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Born | 1984 Vyasarpadi, North Chennai, India |
| Sport | |
| Country |  India |
| Sport | Carrom |
S. Ilavazhagi also known as S. Ilavazhaki (born 1984) is an Indian who has twice won the carrom world cup. [1] She is considered one of the finest carrom players to have represented India at international level from Tamil Nadu state after A. Maria Irudayam.[ citation needed ]
S. Ilavazhagi was born in 1984 to a poor family at Vyasarpadi, Chennai.[ citation needed ] His father A. Irudayaraj, a daily wage earning auto-rickshaw driver (motorished fish cart) and her mother, Selvi is a housewife. She is also the eldest of three sisters in her family.
Ilavazhagi is a member of the Thiruvallur District Carrom Association and also represented India at the Carrom World Championships, Asian Championships. [2] She won the 2008 Indian National Carrom Championship which was held in Chennai beating a former world champion Rashmi Kumari in the final. [3] [4]
In the same year, she participated in the 2008 Carrom World Championships and became a world champion in the women's singles after beating P. Nirmala in the finals with 25-11, 25-11 victory. [5] Ilavazhagi also defeated Rashmi Kumari in the semifinals to qualify for the final. Prior to the 2008 Carrom World Cup she got financial assistance from K. Vijayal, a retired Reserve Bank of India officer. [6]
She also competed at the 2012 Carrom World Championships and emerged as runners-up to Rashmi Kumari in the women's singles final and also won the women's doubles title along with Rashmi Kumari. [7] [8] [9]
Koneru Humpy is an Indian chess player best known for winning the FIDE Women's rapid chess championship in 2019. In 2002, she became the youngest woman ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster (GM) at the age of 15 years, 1 month, 27 days, beating Judit Polgár's previous record by three months. In October 2007, Humpy became the second female player, after Polgár, to exceed the 2600 Elo rating mark, being rated 2606.
Joshna Chinappa is an Indian professional squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 10 in July 2016. She was the first Indian to win the British Junior Squash Championship title in 2005 in the under-19 category and was also the youngest Indian women's national champion. She is the current record-holder of most national championship wins, with 18 titles. In 2024, she was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, by the Government of India.
Anthony Maria Irudayam is a two-time World Carrom Champion and nine-time national champion of India. He was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award, a sporting honour presented by the Government of India, in 1996. As of 2007, he is the only person to have received the award for carrom. He is the current secretary of the Chennai District Carrom Association. He has rued over lack of sponsorship in carrom over the years.
R. Arokiaraj is a Carrom champion from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Arokiaraj was a city carrom champion.
Saina Nehwal is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 that she was able to attain the world no. 1 ranking, thereby becoming the only female player from India and thereafter the second Indian player – after Prakash Padukone – to achieve this feat. She has represented India three times in the Olympics, winning a bronze medal in her second appearance at London 2012.
Somdev Kishore Devvarman is an Indian former professional tennis player. He hit the headlines for being the only collegiate player to have made three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning back-to-back finals in his junior and senior years at the University of Virginia. Only three other players have matched that record since 1950. His 44–1 win–loss record in 2008 at the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship is unprecedented.
Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India and has been the venue for many notable milestones in the history of Indian cricket. Tennis, field hockey, football and formula racing and squash are the other popular sports. The city hosts an ATP tennis event, the Chennai Open. Chennai has a rich legacy in chess and has produced many well-known chess players, the most notable of them being Viswanathan Anand, the former multiple World Chess Champion.
Rashmi Kumari is an International Carrom player from Bihar, India, playing since 1992. She is the current world champion and has two more world titles under her name. She has won record-breaking world titles (3) and a record number of national titles (11). Rashmi Kumari is the most decorated carrom player in the world in both the men's and women's categories. She is employed at ONGC as Chief Manager (HR).
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is an Indian badminton player. Considered one of India's most successful sportspersons, Sindhu has won medals at various tournaments such as the Olympics and on the BWF circuit, including a gold at the 2019 World Championships. She is the first and only Indian to become the badminton world champion and only the second individual athlete from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympic Games. She rose to a career-high world ranking of no. 2 in April 2017.
Between the 2012 Summer Olympics and traditional sports, many significant events occurred this year in Indian sports. Below is a timeline.
Squash is a popular recreational sport in India and it is gaining popularity as a competitive sport. It is governed by the Squash Rackets Federation of India. The India men's national squash team has participated in three quarter finals of the World Team Squash Championships since 1967.
Anitha Pauldurai is an Indian basketball player who has been the captain of the India women's national basketball team. She has been conferred with National Civilian Award Padma Shri in 2021. She has been also conferred with Chief Minister State award in the field of sports by Government of Tamilnadu in 2013.
Pooja Sahasrabudhe is an Indian International table tennis player from Thane, Maharashtra. She comes from a humble middle-class background, and was born and brought up in Thane, Maharashtra. She took to Table tennis at the age of 9 in the year 2000 and showed keen interest and great talent in the sport. Her coach Mrs. Shailaja Gohad at the Boosters TT Academy, was quick to notice this and it was under her guidance that Pooja groomed as a player. She started representing India at a very young age. Pooja did her schooling and graduation from Thane and was absorbed by ONGC in the year 2010. Pooja recently got married and moved to Pune, India where she continues to train under the guidance of Mr. Rohit Chaudhary - a Shiv Chatrapatee Awardee and her husband Mr. Aniket Koparkar - an ex-international himself.
The 2016 Carrom World Championship, was the 7th edition of an international Carrom tournament governed by the International Carrom Federation, contested from 7 to 11 November 2016 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Fifteen countries had competed in the tournament.
The 2018 Carrom World Cup was the 5th edition of the Carrom World Cup which held in the city of Chuncheon, South Korea for 7 days from 23 August to 26 August. This was staged as the first international carrom tournament since the 2016 Carrom World Championship and also marked the first Carrom World Cup to be held in South Korea. The World Cup was hosted in Chuncheon as a part of the 2018 World Leisure Games which includes other sports such as ice hockey, slalom, taekwondo and darts. Sri Lanka won the men's Carrom World Cup and India won the women's World Cup tournament in their respective finals mayil is the winner.
Kajal Kumari is an Indian female carrom player who represents India internationally and also works as an officer at the Indian Oil. During the 2018 Carrom World Cup, she created history by becoming the first ever woman to clinch the overall combined Swiss League title after defeating defending Swiss League champion Chamil Cooray of Sri Lanka in the combined Swiss League final.
Saikumar Apoorva also popularly known by her short name S. Apoorva also spelt as either S. Apoorwa or S. Appoorwa is an Indian carrom player and a defending carrom world champion in women's singles. She also currently works as a senior administrative officer in Life Insurance Corporation of India. She is also the first world champion in any sport to have emerged from the city of Hyderabad.
The 8th edition of the ICF Carrom cup was held in Pune, India from 2 to 6 December 2019. This was the 3rd consecutive ICF cup India has hosted. India won the men's team event and women's team event title.
Prashant More is an Indian carrom player. He is a two time carrom world champion in 2016 and 2018.
Roshita Joseph also spelt as Joseph Roshita is a Sri Lankan carrom player. She was also a former number 1 women’s carrom player in Sri Lanka and has won the national titles on six occasions. In 2020, she became a world champion in the women’s singles of the inaugural edition of the World Online Carrom Championship. She is currently attached to Sri Lankan Navy.
  | This biographical article related to Indian sports is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |